Much Awaited: A Night Out with RWB

The past few years have seen Akira Nakai building his signature widebody Porsches in every corner of the world. Wherever the Stella-chugging, chain-smoking, pink-phone-flipping man goes, it seems a sizeable circus of fans follow to marvel at his craft. In the case of RWB Manila, the creation of a new vehicle is treated with much anticipation – almost akin to a family awaiting their latest newborn. But while the build itself was a private affair hosted by Car Porn Racing*, they’ve been kind enough to host a debut meet for Nakai’s latest creation right after.

*relax, we’ve got that coming soon too

The star of the evening comes in the form of Manila’s 12th RWB. Christened ‘Noah’ after the owner’s recently departed pet, this 964 is the first (half) backdate RWB build we’ve seen locally. The backdated front end is joined by choice pieces like the new Championship Wing with brackets that mounts on the sides of the ducktail and the custom set of concave Outlaw 03’s from Fifteen52.

Flanked on both sides, Noah came with bouncers in the form of a trio of RWB 993s. Tubero (orange), Menage a Trois (Gloss Green), and Haikankou (Metallic Green) were the 9th, 5th, and 11th RWBs to be built here in Manila, and it’s only fitting for a new creation to be welcomed by those that came before it.

Considering that our very own Kevin Carlos put this meet together on the day itself, the turnout of vehicles was surprisingly interesting – all quality instead of sheer quantity. The wide Porsches were surrounded by everything from pop-up Mazdas, retro Toyotas, and even a Rolls Royce. All that hinting at the range of people that were curious about RWB’s latest build.

For some reason I’m not surprised that there were a handful of rear-wheel drive Nissans at the meet. Silvias, Zs, and Skylines were all in good quantity around the lot, each with different approaches to modification so there was a healthy variety for every model.

My RX-7 is pretty much the staple rotary-powered vehicle during meets, but surely the meet could do more with a healthier sampling of more rotaries from around town! Thankfully though my FD enjoyed the company of several tastefully built Miatas. Miatas are basically the same after all, they just don’t have fixed roofs and are more… erm, reliable.

Eventually this Rolls Royce Wraith pulled up together with RWB Menage a Trois. The size of the Wraith pretty much dwarfed every car that sat next to it. Its custom set of wheels still sports the signature non-spinning center cap, one detail that’s very mesmerizing to watch as the Rolls pulled out of the lot.

Porsches of other unique variety have appeared as well. This RUF R Kompressor may look like a modified 997 to most, but anyone who knows RUF will know just how much a car like this deserves proper credit. Augmenting the 3.6L flat-six with a supercharger as well as adding a host of kevlar parts, RUF have turned this into their own model for the Porsche owner that would want a little more power out of their 997.

Surprisingly Hondas were rather few during the meet, but this FK8 Civic Type R with Advan GTs and a spattering of Honda Access parts represented the cream of the crop for the red H. Perhaps we’ll see more of this once they’re done installing all the ordered parts?

Sushi Factory hardly shows up at regular meets lately (mainly because sunday cars & coffee is much more laid back), but when an invite for a special meet like this is extended to Jeiven Perez you’re sure to count on him to bring the very car that put his shop on the map. His TA22 Celica has since been the standard for resto-modding classics in the country, and to this day it draws many curious onlookers despite being surrounded by much more expensive exotics.

Tofu is served for the evening courtesy of this AE86 Sprinter Trueno. While the iconic 藤原とうふ店 (Fujiwara Tofu Shop) sticker is plastered on its right door, this particular 86 actually sports a full kouki (late model) kit as compared to the zenki version that we’ve all become familiar with. Can you spot the differences?

Normally at meets like this you’d expect a number of modern Subarus to show up. GRB, GVF, and VA STIs have become a staple at meets lately but they were nowhere to be found last night. Instead, a pair of GC8 Imprezas and this Sushi Factory-built BG5 Legacy held the fort for Fuji Heavy Industries. Somewhat appropriate considering the 90’s era of cars were the pioneers of Subaru’s rally heritage.

Some folks were a bit late to the party and missed out on Nakai-san and Noah altogether. While many chose to stay and hang out anyway, unicorns such as this mint all-stock NA1 Acura NSX just literally passed by the lot to take a peek. Would have made for a fancier lineup if he dropped by to say hello!

Despite the meet last night being rather impromptu, the turnout of people and vehicles were quite surprising in quality. It was as if RWB was able to draw in only some of the finest builds around town to congregate and appreciate all there is to love about properly built cars. At the end of the day, I guess it’s that same magnetism that draws the rest of the world towards Nakai-san’s creations.

Big thanks to Car Porn Racing and Stance Pilipinas for cooking up this meet on such short notice.

Words by Aurick Go

Photos by Jaime Miguel Echavez, Kevin Carlos, Alec Mendez